Archon

"Death is my meat; terror my wine."

Any commander experienced in fighting the Dark Eldar knows to fear the Archon, a vicious melee warrior who leads front-line troops into battle. This unit can use his Animus Vitae ability to drain the energy from his opponents, healing himself in the process. In addition, the Archon can be reinforced by his highly trained retinue of Incubus troops, increasing his abilities.

Tactics

In Tier 1, the Archon is a great tanking unit that is much more resilient than standard Warriors or Mandrakes. While not capable of taking down most enemy commanders on his own, he is probably the best source of anti-commander damage at this point in the game. Against races who will probably be getting commanders or always do, the Archon can be a useful part of a Dark Eldar player's build order. Even against races who will not be building a commander, he is useful because he can tie up squads fast and will not get completely annihilated by enemy fire on his way to do so, allowing him to lead the charge for Warriors and Mandrakes. He also does pretty good building damage, and has a decent ranged attack which can be useful for killing the last units in a squad or finishing off builders.

Keep the Incubus retinue fully upgraded and filled out in capacity whenever possible. Aside from the obvious advantages of extra damage and acting as a meat shield for the Archon, they provide powerful bonuses to the Archon's spellcasting abilities, keeping every aspect of the Archon scaling as the game progresses. A full 5 Incubi provide an impressive 40% reduction to the cooldown of the Archon's abilities while extending their duration for 149%.

Animus Vitae provides a means of both ensnaring fleeing troops and holding back powerful enemy melee units that threaten the fragile Dark Eldar infantry. Crucible of Malediction can provide a similar effect, but is best saved for powerful Tier 3 infantry or glass cannons like Fire Warrior Teams. The incredible firepower of these units, once turned on itself, can halve the size of the squad without the Dark Eldar even needing to fire a shot. Be aware that Crucible of Malediction does not disable abilities of the target squad, so if the squad has any abilities to reduce the damage it takes, such as Fanaticism, they will likely be used and nullify the destructive potential of the Crucible. On the other hand, squads under damage boosting auras such as Battlecry will destroy themselves even quicker and make great victims.

NOTE: The Archon's Crucible of Malediction is highly effective in diverting the devastating Acts of Faith used by the Sisters of Battle. Using it on a squad with the Emperor's Touch or Divine Retribution will make the squad damage itself while, more or less, makes the current Act of Faith expire after the Crucible's effect. Although beware when attacking those with Divine Retribution because it will still damage the Sisters' enemies.